Readers' comments

I have problems getting the point of some commentators. Snake meat eating is as old as any other food tradition. That it's a ‘No-No’ to some (Europeans) doesn't mean it has to be for others too. Just go to any Chinese or South East Asian Live-Food Market . . . And as long as the Rattler isn't an endangered species in the U.S.’ Midwest, what's all that fuss about?

At least the Rattlers can enjoy a life in freedom before they are eaten . . . different from your "favorites" which are penned up in boxes and propped up with hormones before facing their “final destination”.

@many: So much for staying on topic. Your disinterest in the subject would be more efficiently communicated by simply not posting. But thanks.

Though perhaps traditional in some parts of Texas, these events at best perpetuate Texan stereotypes and at worst invite amateurs to engage in activity that could very easily result in loss of limb and death. Perhaps some old fashioned, ambulance chasing litigation against the promoters is what it would take to end these barbaric displays.

Rattlers are so easy to catch 'cause they’re the most honest prey around: They tell you right where they are. If you get one with your bare hands then there is a yam-yam recipe forya:

*SPICY RATTLESNAKE PASTA*

1/4 cup olive oil

3 large garlic cloves, minced

1 28 oz can Italian tomatoes

1 dried hot red chillies, minced

1 tbsp. oregano

2 tsp. dried basil

2 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. salt

juice from 1/2 lemon

1/2 lb. rattlesnake meat

1 lb penne or pasta of choice

1. Simmer rattlesnake in water and lemon juice for 1 hour, remove and separate meat from bones.
2. Combine de-boned meat with the rest of the ingredients (except pasta) in large saucepan and simmer for 1/2 hour.
3. Cook pasta as normal and serve over cooked pasta.

And this goes best with a Paulo Cabernet Sauvignon, DOUBLE GOLD winner of the 2005 Taster's Guild International and Gold winner of 2005 Lone Star International Wine Competition

It is only a matter of a few years when these roundups will collapse under a declining harvest - similar to the 'tragedy of the commons' being experienced in international waters for fishing. I imagine it takes a few years for the snakes to reach breeding age. Collect them all - and you have nothing left - but the rats (as implied by vinayaksathe). Jellyfish anyone?

When mankind has killed all the creatures that don't fit into it's idea of what constitutes a safe environment and has built on all the "free land" and created pretty parks parks for the cuddly animals, what will mankind do then?

There is one interesting consequence of the way these animals are treated. A noisy rattler is more likely to be discovered and dispatched than a quiet one--natural selection "helped along" by ranchers concerned about the loss of an animal to a snakebite. The conventional wisdom is that smaller snakes are more dangerous, because they are much less likely to warn, and more likely to strike. But there is little reason to fear one, if you just pay attention, and never put your hands where you can't see 'em.